• DE&I Commitment
  • Careers
  • Locations
  • Book a Meeting
    Book a Meeting
  • Company
    Learn a little more about us, our values, and our team
    Our Values
    We don't just talk the talk; we live by our core values
    About Us
    Empowering brands to realize their potential with data, insights, and technology
    Leadership
    Meet our leadership team
    Secure Data Architecture
    Our promise of data security and privacy. We keep your data safe from publishers, competitors and bad actors
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    We are committed to making a positive impact on our communities and our planet
  • Platform
    Plan, manage, optimize, and measure your campaigns with our omnichannel platform
    Our Platform
    A platform that connects all walled garden media
    Connected Media
    Create and manage campaigns across search, social, retail media and apps, in one platform
    Connected Data
    Make data-driven decisions as you plan and strategize
    See the industries we serve
    Learn how our customizable solutions can help with your unique needs
    Explore our partner integrations
    See the media, retailer, and data partners we work with
  • Clients
  • News and Events
    Check out recent announcements and see what we’re up to
    News
    Check out our recent media coverage
    Events
    Join us for our next conference or webinar
    Roundtable discussion: Beyond Onsite
    Tackle the next phase of retail media over breakfast with Nectar360 and peers
    Retail Media for Grocery Webinar
    Join us to dig into trends and challenges shaping the industry in 2023
  • Resources
    From new releases, to industry trends and best practices, Skai has you covered
    Blog
    Read the latest insights and thought leadership from our industry experts
    Capabilities
    Take your campaigns to the next level by enhancing your platform capabilities
    Research
    Explore our reports and whitepapers so you can keep up on the latest industry trends
    Subscribe
    Sign up to get the latest updates straight to your inbox
    Quarterly Trends Report
    Learn digital advertising campaign performance trends from Q4 2022
Back to Blog

8 Key Points from the Skai 2020 Holiday SEM Masterclass

Joshua Dreller, Sr. Director, Content Marketing @ Skai™

November  16, 2020

Curiosity has the power to help marketers challenge the status quo and make game-changing discoveries. When it comes to making data-driven decisions, curiosity pushes us to get to the why behind the whats, towards better outcomes and visionary innovation.

That’s why Skai dedicated a whole day to the theme in our first fully-virtual summit, CURIOUS 2020. 34 hours of content and 25 sessions later, CURIOUS 2020 has come to a close. If you weren’t able to watch the sessions live then don’t worry – they are now available to view on our on-demand hub in your own time.

Visit the CURIOUS 2020 event page for informative and inspiring video content!

There was so much great content at CURIOUS 2020 that we had to extend the event into the following week with a series of masterclasses that we called EXTRA-CURIOUS.

One of those sessions, The 2020 Holiday Season: A Search Masterclass, had a group of search pros with a combined 30+ years of digital marketing experience together to chat about how the 2020 Holiday season may pan out. They shared ready-to-use helpful insights, experiences, and top tips for dealing with uncertain market trends.

Moderated by Skai’s Director of Client Success, Jim Wasenius, the expert panelists for this session included:

  • Yomi Arokoyo, VP, Performance Media Solutions @ Rakuten Advertising
  • Ben Jones, Creative Director @ Google’s Unskippable Labs
  • Diogo Valente, Sr. Manager Biddable Media @ Kapersky
  • Kate DuBois – General Manager, Skai Search

In today’s post, we revisit this session and share some of the deep insights from our experts. Remember, you can watch the recording of this session and other content from CURIOUS 2020 on-demand at Kenshoo.com/CURIOUS-2020.

8 Key Points from the Skai 2020 Holiday SEM Masterclass

Logistics will play a part in holiday shopping this year

Supply chains have been disrupted this year which will dictate the kinds of promotions that retailers can offer based on inventory issues. Also, with more people buying online, shipping times will be slower than usual. This year, more than any other previous year will be less impacted by customer needs and more affected by issues caused by the global pandemic.

So many businesses need their holiday season to go well, so there will be more aggressive promotions

With the terrible financial year that has been 2020, many companies are relying on the holiday season to be big this year. This means search advertisers will be promoting early and all throughout the season instead of waiting for the traditional big days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

The big advice from all panelists is to stay nimble and adapt

Because 2020 has been the year of curveballs, brands need to expect the unexpected during Q4. They should be ready to pivot on a moment’s notice if things change quickly. The holiday season is very short, so search marketers can’t sit on the sidelines if they’re not hitting their goals. They need to actively look for ways to improve things before it’s too late.

Retailers need to offer value-added services to attract and retain customers

Curbside pickup and Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPUS) are ways that retailers have attempted to make shopping locally easier. Other examples include offering personal shopping help to online customers and apps that let consumers try on makeup or clothes via augmented reality website and app features.

Be flawless with customer experiences

If a customer has a negative experience with your shipping times or has issues with curbside pickup, you could be hurting your business rather than helping it. If you’re going to go outside the box and offer services that weren’t available pre-COVID, then you need to make sure that they work as intended.

Companies are relying on partners to close the gap

Especially seen in the food category with intermediaries like Uber Eats, Instacart, and DoorDash, businesses that have been able to adapt to the changing market have been able to survive. Brands should be looking out for ecosystem partners that can help them better connect to customers.

What will be hot in terms of gifts this year?

Two major themes are popping up. First, any gifts that can make life at home more comfortable will be big this Q4. Also, gifts that can help parents make their kids happy and engaged during these crazy times will be at the top of many wish lists.

How will search ad messaging change this holiday season?

Retailers will need to help get people into stores because they might be a little worried as COVID-19 spikes here at the end of the year. Messaging that can explain how they’re keeping customers safe in order to entice them to leave their houses will be key. The stores that are able to do this well will definitely reap the benefits. 

Maximize your search engine marketing campaigns

Automation, performance, and efficiency once represented the entire advantage of premium search marketing software. Today, they’re the table stakes. Search marketers looking for true competitive advantage need the tools to achieve an unbiased, holistic optimization strategy.

And that’s where Skai comes in.

With a history of innovation in data, bidding, and measurement, combined with an independent, media-agnostic and omnichannel position, Skai Search sets search marketers up to stay in control while driving true business growth—at scale.

For more information or to set up a brief demo to see the platform for yourself, please contact us today.

Related Posts

  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Microsoft Advertising
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Roundel
    Read More
  • Key Takeaways from the Skai Q4 2020 Quarterly Trends Report
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Walmart
    Read More
  • Microsoft Shopping Campaigns Get a Powerful Analytics Upgrade in Skai Search
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Gopuff
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!
Tags: Create, Curious, Google, Holiday, Plan, Research, Retail Media, Search, Target, xTLx

Subscribe to Updates

Media that matters.
Marketing that works.
© 2023 Kenshoo, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Recruitment Privacy Policy.
  • Connected Data
    • Market Intelligence
    • Our Approach
    • By Need
    • By Solution
  • Connected Strategy
    • Dynamic Marketing Mix
    • Budget Forecasting
    • Strategic Consulting
  • Connected Media
    • Overview
    • Retail Media
    • Paid Search
    • Paid Social
    • App Marketing
    • Auditing
    • Expert Services
  • Measurement
    • Incrementality
    • Experiments
    • Cross-Channel Attribution
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Glossary
    • Case Studies
    • Training & Enablement
    • Developer Hub
Privacy Preference

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

Privacy Preference

Save All

Save

Accept Only Essential Cookies

Manage Cookie Preferences

Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

Privacy Preference

Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

Save All Save Accept Only Essential Cookies

Back

Privacy Preference

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Name
Provider Owner of this website, Imprint
Purpose Saves the visitors preferences selected in the Cookie Box of Borlabs Cookie.
Host(s) .skai.io, skai.io
Cookie Name borlabs-cookie
Cookie Expiry 1 Year
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Purpose This cookie stores selections made by the user in the Accessibe tool in order to maintain those settings on future visits. These cookies help us make our website compliant with our obligations under US law.
Privacy Policy https://accessibe.com/privacy-policy
Cookie Name acsbState, acsbReset
Cookie Expiry n/a
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) skai.io
Cookie Name wordpress_sec_,wordpress_test_cookie,wp-postpass_*, wordpresspass_*, wordpressuser_*
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

We use these cookies to enhance functionality and allow for personalisation, such as live chats, videos and the use of social media.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) .chilipiper.com, skai.chilipiper.com
Cookie Name fs_uid, CHILI_PIPER_CLUSTER, guest-session, _sp_ses*, _sp_id*
Cookie Expiry Session / 2 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) .comeet.co, www.comeet.co
Cookie Name visid_incap_, nlbi_#######, incap_ses_, referrer22_00a, incap_ses_1364_2167377
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year
Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) skai.io
Cookie Name moduleFormPardotDownload
Cookie Expiry 30 days

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Google used for website analytics. Generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
Cookie Name _ga,_ga_*,_gat,_gat_*,_gid
Cookie Expiry 2 Months
Accept
Name
Provider Hotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta
Purpose Hotjar is an user behavior analytic tool by Hotjar Ltd.. We use Hotjar to understand how users interact with our website.
Privacy Policy https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/
Host(s) *.hotjar.com
Cookie Name _hjClosedSurveyInvites, _hjDonePolls, _hjMinimizedPolls, _hjDoneTestersWidgets, _hjIncludedInSample, _hjShownFeedbackMessage, _hjid, _hjRecordingLastActivity, hjTLDTest, _hjUserAttributesHash, _hjCachedUserAttributes, _hjLocalStorageTest, _hjptid, _hjSessionUser_2229986, _hjIncludedInPageviewSample, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress, _hjFirstSeen
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

Marketing cookies are used by third-party advertisers or publishers to display personalized ads. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Linkedin
Cookie Name lidc, li_gc, lang, AnalyticsSyncHistory, UserMatchHistory, li_sugr, bcookie, TDCPM, TDID, bscookie, ln_or
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year
Accept
Name
Provider Skai
Accept
Name
Provider 6sense
Cookie Name _gd_session, _an_uid, _gd_visitor, _gd_svisitor, 6suuid
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Pardot
Purpose Cookie name associated with services from marketing automation and lead generation platform Pardot. The visitor value is the visitor_id in your Pardot account. This cookie is set for visitors by the Pardot tracking code.
Host(s) .pardot.com, pi.pardot.com, skai.io
Cookie Name pardot, visitor_id*, lpv*
Cookie Expiry Session / 10 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Google used for conversion tracking of Google Ads.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
Cookie Name IDE, 1P_JAR, NID, SOCS, CONSENT, AEC, _gcl_au, OTZ, test_cookie
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Facebook used for website analytics, ad targeting, and ad measurement.
Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies
Cookie Name _fbp,act,c_user,datr,fr,tr,m_pixel_ration,pl,presence,sb,spin,wd,xs
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Wistia
Host(s) .wistia.com
Cookie Name cb_anonymous_id, _sp_ses.2b40, _li_dcdm_c, __hssrc, _gcl_au, _clsk, hubspotutk, _sp_id.2b40, __hssc, __hstc, _uetsid, _uetvid, _gid, _ga, _ga_GQR109DZ3Y, _lc2, fpi, _ex-pricing-cta, _fbp, cb_group_id, cb_user_id, _clck
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock Instagram content.
Privacy Policy https://www.instagram.com/legal/privacy/
Host(s) .instagram.com
Cookie Name pigeon_state
Cookie Expiry Session
Accept
Name
Provider Openstreetmap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, United Kingdom
Purpose Used to unblock OpenStreetMap content.
Privacy Policy https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
Host(s) .openstreetmap.org
Cookie Name _osm_location, _osm_session, _osm_totp_token, _osm_welcome, _pk_id., _pk_ref., _pk_ses., qos_token
Cookie Expiry 1-10 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock Twitter content.
Privacy Policy https://twitter.com/privacy
Host(s) .twimg.com, .twitter.com
Cookie Name __widgetsettings, local_storage_support_test
Cookie Expiry Unlimited
Accept
Name
Provider Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA
Purpose Used to unblock Vimeo content.
Privacy Policy https://vimeo.com/privacy
Host(s) player.vimeo.com
Cookie Name vuid
Cookie Expiry 2 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock YouTube content.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
Host(s) google.com
Cookie Name CONSENT
Cookie Expiry 6 Month

Borlabs Cookie powered by Borlabs Cookie

Privacy Policy Imprint